Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, announced the ceasefire on Thursday after forging the agreement with Turkey, a longtime backer of the opposition.

Yet only a few hours later, a rebel official reported clashes between insurgents and government forces along the provincial boundary between Idlib and Hama, and isolated incidents of gunfire further south.

Government forces and rebels clashes just north of Damascus and along the provincial boundary between Idlib and Hama (Picture: Barcroft)

Just north of Damascus, Syrian government forces and their allies also clashed with rebels and helicopter gunships carried out air raids in the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Many areas included in the deal still remained calm but the fighting highlighted the fragility of any truce agreement in a country where repeated international efforts towards peace have failed.

A number of rebel groups have signed the agreement, Russia’s Defence Ministry said, while several others have acknowledged the deal.

Many areas included in the deal still remained calm but the fighting highlighted the fragility of the truce (Picture: Barcroft)

A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a loose alliance of insurgent groups, said it would also abide by the truce.

One FSA commander was optimistic about the truce deal, which is the third serious attempt at a nationwide ceasefire this year, and said: ‘This time I have confidence in its seriousness. There is new international input.’

Syria’s civil war, which began when a peaceful uprising descended into violence in 2011, has resulted in more than 300,000 deaths and displaced more than 11 million people.

The ceasefire announced yesterday was the first major international diplomatic initiative in the Middle East in decades not to involve the United States.

The previous two Syria ceasefires, brokered by Washington and Moscow, took effect in February and September but both collapsed within weeks as warring sides accused each other of truce violations and fighting intensified.